Battery connection



W. E. HOLLAND AND I. MSKINNER.

BATTERY CONNECTlON.

APPLICATION FILED 1ULY 8.1919.

1,371,093, i Patented Mar.8,1921.

UNITED STATESA PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER E. HOLLAND AND JAMES M. SKINNER, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS T PHILADELPHIA STORAGE BATTERY COMPANY; 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A. CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

BATTERY CONNECTION.

Specification of Letters (Patent.

Patented Mar. 8, 1921.

.Application led. July 8, 1919. Serial 11m-309,475.

T o all whom it may concern-f Be it known that We `W''Innn E. HOLLAND and JAMES M. SKINNEP., citizens.- of vthe United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniav have invented Battery Connections., of which the oiiowing is a speci-- @ne object oi 'this invention is to provide insulated conductor and inter-ceil.- or terminal connection especialy designed for Iuse onl storage batteries, which connection maybe readiiy made as Weli as removed Without the use oi speoiail apparatus or tools other than an ordinary soldering iron and which also eliminates the dangers attendant upon die use of exposed .metai connections at the top o' battery.

Another obj eet ofi-this invention isto provide a novei form of connection between an 'insniated or other conductor and the terminai strap of a storage battery ceii, such as Wiii insure not oniy tbe best eiectrical contact between these parts, but will in addition. eifectuaiiy exclude the acid or `other eiectrolyte used in tbe celi from the joint and espeoialiy from tiie metai o the condncn tor g-it being noted that in this manner conductors ol iovv resistance 'metals suoli as copper.7 Wliicn corrode in acid, may be carried down into or near tlie electrolyte.

i further object oi our invention is to prov a novei form of iexible or other connection between the Celis of a storage battery or between the end ceiis and the externai circuit; the construction being suoli as to rednce tbev eiectricai resistance as Weii .as oi snob. connection.

These objects and other advantageous f ends We attain as hereinafter set forth, referenee beiner bad to the accompanyingdraw- Wn.- A Figure i s -a side elevation of one form of terminai post constructed in accordance with our invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 22 Fig. i; together with certain of tbe parte ordinariiy associated Vwith our invention;

. Fig. 5 is a pian of the structure shown in Fig. 'is with the battery celi cover removed; Fig. i is an elevation of a slightly modi- Y Y Ytied form ore our invention.;

Figf is a vertical section on tbe line 5 5, Fig. e;

Figs. 6 and 7 are vertical sections of other modifications of our invention; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a sleeve Wljich may be used in connecting tbe cable en s.

In the above drawings l represents a lead alloy strap which in a storage battery celi has connected to it the terminal lugs of one group of .the plates and, according to tlie preferred embodiment of our invention, eacli of such straps of any battery Celi is cast around or soldered to one end of a conductor 2, preferably so as to cover and inciose a portion of its insulating Icover 3 as Well as its projecting end. The strands of this end are preferably opened up or spread outa as indicated at 4i, and that portion of the strap i immediately surrounding it and the adjacent end portion of the insulation has a generaliy cylindrical form, projecting in a ne substantially at right angles to the plane of said strap. y'

The' lower portion of this cylindrical eX- tension 5 is preferably externally threaded or serrated, being surrounded'by an integral` internally threaded or serrated riange G spaced laway fromit to 'form a narrow an nular cavity. Around this cylindrical projection 5 and the part of tbe insulated conductor 2`3 immediately adjacent thereto is then molded orothervvise applied a bushing j 2' of hard rubber or other suitable insniating material, Whose lower portion projects into and fills the annuiar Jcavity between tbe dang-e 6 and the projection 5. The upper end ci' this bushing is externaiiy threaded. and it isvulcanized or cemented in any suitabie manner to form an integral kconnecticm with the adjacent portions of tbe rubber covering 3 of the conductor@ 'g-being `formed. with an annular flange 8 immediately beiow the threaded upper end 9 so as to present an annular face parallei withl but 4spaced awayv from the under side of tbe Celi cover 10. which is usuaiiy-o bard rubber. Said cover is provided with an opening 'for the passage of the threaded upper end. of tbe bushing 7 and its under face may have an annular rib or ange 11., Fig. 5, designed to confine a soit rubber or other suitabie form of' sealing gasket 12 between itseif and the collar 8 of tbebushing with a viev7 to forming an acid tight joint between the iatthe conductor 2. This latter is still lfurgasket in the desired manner.l

ter and the cell cover. In order .to insure close contact between the cover and this gasket, as well as to maintain the several 'parts in position, a sealing nut' 13 of hard ther protected by the integral 'connection between its cover and the upper .end 9 of the bushing 6, formed by Vvulcanizlng orceinenting these parts together, and anyA creepingor other leakageor splashing of electrolyte out of the battery cell sealing gasket 12. n

vIn Figs. l and -5- we have illustrated a form of our invention particularly7 designed for use in so-called non-spill batteries in which -the cover 10 of the cell is a considerable distance away from the alloy strap 1. In such cases the body 7*,of the bush'- ing is elongated between its collar 8 forv the reception ofthe sealing gasket and its point of engagement with the strap 1,'1nto which, as previously described, it is roldedA and vulcanized or otherwise'` connected so as to form a liquid-proof joint.

If desired, andnwithout departing Afrom our invention, we may form the bushing as indicated at 71 in Fig. 6, so that while its lower yend is entered in an annular recess formed between the'iiange 6 ofthe strap 1 and the cylindricalprojectionY 5 thereof and is, cemented therein to provide an acid-proof joint, its bodyand upperportion are spaced away from the upper part of the projection 5 and from the insulation 3 surround- .ing the conductor 2, to form an elongated annular vspace which is filled with a sealing'compound 15, beingrclosed at the top by a ring 18 pressed into place before the compound hardens. As before, the upper end of the bushing 7b is provided with a iange 8 and has a sealing gasket'12 confined between this and the under side of.4 Y

the coverv 10, said bushing being made to withstand turning strains by "suitable means such as a key 6 which enters a keyway in its lower edge. The ,upper end 9 of said bushing is'threaded above the collarand has mounted on it a hard rubber sealing nut 13 whereby the flange 8 andl cover 10 are drawn togetherV to compress the soft rubber gasket 12 so.. asto make an acidproof joint.

To facilitate makingy the connection beis effectually prevented by the sealing nut 13 and" tween the cable ends 2, a sleeve 25 ig. 8) preferably of thin metal, may be slipped over them after the insulation has been removed and the connection `is then completed f by pouring or running-in solder through an opening 26 therein ;the exposed metal parts being finally covered withftape or:

other suitable insulation.

, In that form of the invention shown in Fig. 7 the construction is for the most part the same as that shown in Fig. 2 except that the threads or serrations are omitted from the interior of the flange' and from the projection 5, and the lower end of the .bushing 7a is cemented into the annular cavity between these two parts. In orderto positively hold the bushing from turning relatively to the strap 1, its lower edge is recessed or slotted for the reception of a projection or key 27 formed or fixed in the` vcavity between the flange. 6a and the pron jection 5a. j

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the acid or. other electrolyte is effectually excluded from the conductor leading from the strap, so that it .cannot creep along and corrode the same or escape between said conductor and the bushing.

Likewise there is 'no possibility ofthe escape'ofrelectrolyte past' the sealing. gasket between the bushing and the cover,` since the insulating material of which the bushing is made does not corrode or 'tend to draw electrolyte over its surface as does metal, and also because of the relatively high compression of the gasket, and therefore the tight joint, which is made possible by the .nature of the material of the bushing and nut permitting of the use of a relatively fine tread.A Furthermore, the `sealing -nut will. not jar loose in service although it may be removed readily when desired. r

Again, the electrical resist-ance of the connections to or between the termina-l lugv straps of a storage battery is materially reduced by the use of our invention and that without possibility vof damage to the copper or low resistance conductors from the v electrolyte or of leakage of such electro-4 lyte between the conductorsfand their insulating bushings or between the bushings and the cell covers.,

We claim: 1. The combination offa conductor; insustrap cast around said-5 conductor so as to make electrical connection with the endv thereof as well as inclose the adjacentfend portionof the insulatingmaterial thereon.

2. The combination Yof a conductor; insulating material thereon; with a battery cell strap castl around said conductor so as to make electrical connection with the end thereof and form a tight joint with the adylating material thereon; with a battery cell rennes jacent end portion of the insulating material thereon. Y

3. rThe combination of a conductor; an insulating covering thereon; a battery cell strap having a projection cast around said conductor so as to make electrical connection with the end thereof as well as linelose the adjacent end portion of the insulating covering thereon; with an insulating bushing surrounding said projection and making, a liquid tight joint therewith.

4. The combination of a conductor; an insulating covering thereon; a terminal strap having a projection cast around said conductor so as to make electrical connection with the end thereof; with lan insulating bushing surrounding said projection and making-a liquid-tight joint therewith and with the insulating covering. f

5. The combination oi a battery cell strap; a low resistance conductor sweated directly into a portion of said strap; and insulating material making a. liquid-tight connection with lthe strap and extended over a portion of the low resistance conductor.

6. The combination of a battery cell strap. having an integral projecting portion; with a conductor of relatively low resistance embedded in said projecting portion and extending therethrough to a point adjacent its junction with the strap.

7. The combination of abattery' cell strap having an integral projecting portion; a conductor of relatively low resistance embedded in said projecting portion and extending therethrough to a point adjacent its junction with the strap; and a protective insulating covering inclosing the projecting portion and making a liquid tight connection with said cell strap.

8. The combination of abattery cell strap having a projecting portion; a conductor connected to said projecting portion; with an insulating bushing cemented to the projecting 'portion and making a liquid-tight joint with the cell strap.

9. lThe combination with a battery cell strap having a projecting portion; a rela- .ativ'ely loW resistance conductor around which the material of said portion is cast extending in the saine to a point adjacent the strap; insulating material Jfor the conductor making a liquidgtigh't junction with the projecting -port1onl; and an insulating bushing having a liquid-tight connection with the cellstrap and mounted substantially coaxial With the projecting portion and with the conductor'.-

. ductor.

11. The combination of'a relatively good electrical conductor having an insulating covering; a relatively poor conductor cast substantially coucentri'cally around the first conductor; and an insulating bushing making'liquid-tight connection both with the in- 'sulation and with said relatively poor conductor adjacent the junction of said two conductors. j v

l2. The combination of a battery cell strap having a projecting terminal post; an electrical conductor embedded in said post; insulation'on said conductor extending adjacent said post; with an insulating bushing keyed to the post and making a liquidltight joint with said insulation.

13. The combination of a battery cell strap having a projecting portion and a flange surrounding said portion so as to form an annular recess; a key in the recess; a conductor embedded in the projecting portion;

insulation for said conductor extending adjacent the strap projection; with an 1nsu.

lating bushing making a liquid-tight 'joint with said insulation and having a portlon entering said annular recess in non-rotatable en agement Withfthe key.

n Witness whereof we aflix our signatures.

WALTER E. HOLLAND. JAMES M. SKINNER. 

